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Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Last week, John Steenhuizen MP delivered a powerful speech in Parliament, with the refrain 'This is madness..." https://goo.gl/Q4gRZX It evidently resonated with the South African public leading to over 5,000 shares and over a quarter of a million views on social media. Steenhuizen cited as case examples, the madness of a country whose President, ruling party and its parliamentarians allow the systematic looting of the treasury by foreigners. His case examples were not new, but he is the first to put the diagnosis of "madness" out in public. I have been thinking the same thought for a long time.

Steenhuizen's speech begins by quoting the saying "Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad" which is attributed to have its origins in ancient Greek poetry. The saying is also used in monotheistic form with the singular form 'God'. So now is this 'madness' just a random act of political chance or is God responsible as Steenhuizen's quote implies? While it doesn't come directly from the Bible, it does paraphrase a theme of the Bible: That God frequenty judges leaders he plans to destroy with "foolishness".

Bible case examples include: God made Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon mad for his arrogance (Daniel 4); God made King Saul mad with an evil spirit for disobeying him (1 Samuel 16:14; 16:23; 18:10; 19:9). In his delusion, however he thought God was on his side against David (1 Samuel 23:7). Last week our President affirmed that both God and the ancestors were on his side (https://goo.gl/JbwZ9m). God made the chief adviser of his rebel son Absalom foolish (2 Samuel 15:31), that caused him to give bad military advice and thus lose that civil war.

In Isaiah 3:1-15 God promises to judge Israel's rebellion by replacing their wise elder leadership with oppressive youths. In our own country we see authority in our education system being hijacked by youths. In some schools, teachers are afraid of bully pupils. University and technicon's are forced to give in to the demands of youths, burning their own buildings. A Touws Rivier truck driver asked "You burn your own university: libraries, toilets. For what reason...You burn stuff that the government must give again to restore. How do you think fees must fall if you vandalise everything that must be used...'" https://goo.gl/X8dixC It is madness.

In Job 12:17-20 God "...makes fools of judges... And takes away the discernment of elders'. And South Africa's most senior Judges ruled in 2006 that a man can marry a man, attempting to define the oldest institution in the world, pre-dating all other human government. And now on 18 August 2017, the court rules that journalist Jon Qwelane who pointed out the logical consequences of that line of thinking is guilty of 'hate speech', demanding an apology due in a month and not given thus far - the judge in the detail of the ruling intensifies the absurdity of this logical gymnastics. While Qwelane's tone may have been untactful, his argument that unless the constitution is corrected, someone could approach the court to demand the right to marry an animal cannot be denied, since 'sexual orientation' is legally undefined and its legal interpretation is creeping with expansion year by year - even within the court judgment itself that condemned him. Further there are people who have attempted to marry animals and who wish that to be socially accepted https://goo.gl/Ckzzg2. Ancient Canaanite society accepted beastiality along with homosexuality (Leviticus 18 and 'The Baal Cycle', Stories of Ancient Canaan). Search for 'Zoophilia' if you need historical evidence which will not be linked here because it is offensive. Reading Qwelane's statements in the context of his other articles shows that he does not hate homosexual people - he is using an argument by taking a wrong assumption to its logical, but absurd conclusion https://goo.gl/YdAQaW.

A legal technical adviser working on the South African constitution in 1994 laughed at me when I told him the wording could lead to a case of someone claiming the right to prostition. But despite his laughter at the time, which I warned the Constitutional Assembly in writing, that did happen and was a hard fought battle only narrowly won. One wonders if the South African Human Rights Commission will refund Qwelane his massive legal costs if his prediction turns out true? But really their bottom line is: Don't point out the legal elite 'emperors have no clothes' or you will suffer. Qwelane's article pointed to the absurdity of the Anglican Church on the brink of a split over homosexuality. Polls in the Human Rights Commissions own reports show almost all South African's view 'same-sex marriage' as absurd, but apparently not our legal elite, who are determined to steamroll acceptance of the belief they have only held for a few years onto the rest of us. This is madness.

A frequently used image in the Bible is that of leadership 'drunkedness' (Isaiah 29:9 "... Be drunk but not from wine, stagger but not from beer". Before God destroyed Babylon, he predicted Jeremiah 51:55 "I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well..." In other words, before he destroyed Babylon, God made their leaders mad and their foolish decisions led to their downfall.

And we have the Western Cape High Court that ruled that dagga should be legal at home. (See reasons why this is both destructive and legally invalid https://goo.gl/VquqcV). As if this foolishness was not enough, the South Gauteng High Court is currently adjurned hearing a case trying to legalise, not just home or medical use, but commercial cannabis. Intensifying the absurdity, journalists covering the case have jumped on the bandwagon of the new cause with article after article making arguments in favour of dagga sound wise and making arguments against dagga sound foolish (example https://goo.gl/fQ231H). In 2015, Judge Fabricius authorised a euthanasia, again with absurd and convoluted logic flowing from an ideology developing within this judicial elite https://goo.gl/cvXnaU. In June the South Gauteng high court attempted to restrict parents rights to determine school religious policy again following a legally flawed reasoning https://goo.gl/L6mbyL that will have negative consequences.

On the one hand, the Word of God points to the practical foolishness (wrongfulness and stupidity) of such judicial decisions, which is also evident by comparing the law itself and their own internal logic - but on the other hand the Bible points to the diagnosis - when we have not just one event - but multiple judges making similar foolish decisions. If it was just the President acting foolishly one could blame it on him personally. If it was just one political party, one could blame it on them. But it isn't. The leadership foolishness culture is affecting the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, our educational institutions, parts of the church and our media. One can't blame it on one man or one party. Steenhuizen's speech is prophetic and a dangerous warning. But Steenhuizen hopes South Africa's 'madness' problem can be fixed by elections. Will elections fix our judiciary? Our students who burn their own libraries? Can voters maybe also affected by a loss of reason? The broad ranging evidence of leadership madness in South Africa and repeated warnings in the Bible point to the the judgment of God for South Africa's rebellion against him. The solution is a turning back to God and obedience to his Word-law.